taking on bank executives and questions about bonuses paid at silicon valley bank hours before the collapse violent demonstrations in paris. the changes to france's retirement age triggering outrage. the american citizen and great grandmother kidnapped in mexico. the fbi now asking the public for help. he's famous for "the wire" and the "john wick" series remembering actor lance reddick. and we're in swift city, the place that literally renamemed ititself afterer taylor swift asas she kicks off her first tour in five years. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and thank you for being with us on this friday night. in what is at least for this moment mostly symbolic act, an arrest warrant was issued today for russian president vladimir putin now formally charged by the international

criminal court for war crimes in ukraine. the court says putin bears individual responsibility for the unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of ukraine to russia while there is little expectation of putin ending up in custody any time soon, the charges were nonetheless welcome by ukraine's president zelenskyy, who thanked the court for its willingness to really bring those who are guilty to justice. tonight putin's spokesman dismissed the warrant saying, we do not recognize this court. erin mclaughlin reports from kyiv. >> reporter: tonight russian president vladimir putin now wanted for alleged war crimes the international criminal court issuing an arrest warrant saying putin oversaw the forced deportation of children from ukraine to russia, forbidden under international law adding, there are reasonable grounds to believe that putin bears individual criminal responsibility tonight, ukraine's president zelenskyy hailing the move against what he calls state evil, which he says starts with putin.

the icc also issuing an arrest warrant for russia's children's rights commissioner, maria lvova-belova, seen here as unaccompanied ukrainian children are loaded onto a bus for russia according to the associated press ukraine's prosecutor general says more than 16,000 ukrainian children were forcibly deported from occupied areas noting the real figure could be much higher but the kremlin is rejecting the allegations tonight as outrageous and unacceptable a top official tweeting about the arrest warrant, this is where the paper should be used adding a toilet paper emoji, while the white house calls it another step to hold russia accountable for its invasion >> russia has been committing more crimes as we've said, even crimes against humanity there's no doubt about that whatsoever. >> reporter: the global condemnation coming after a show of support from china announcing president xi will meet with putin in moscow on monday china has urged peace talks on ukraine and provided russia with

critical economic aid, although tonight the senior nato official says there are concerns china could provide the kremlin with weapons telling nbc news, we don't see any signs they're taking it off the table. >> erin, the term arrest warrant sounds awfully immediate, but what's the practical reality of these charges as far as putin is concerned >> reporter: well, lester, it's limited the icc has no power to arrest anyone russia is not a member of the icc, so putin won't be extradited, so he may never face trial, though his travel could be restricted lester. >> erin mclaughlin in kyiv, thank you. we have exclusive new reporting tonight on how law enforcement here in new york are preparing for the potential that former president trump could be indicted as soon as next week. the logistics of getting a former president before a judge for an arraignment are unprecedented. senior legal correspondent laura jarrett has details. >> reporter: tonight law enforcement

gearing up multiple law enforcement agencies are preparing for the possibility of a manhattan grand jury indicting former president donald trump as early as next week. wnbc's chief investigative reporter jonathan dienst was first to report the discussions at the federal, state, and local levels described as precautionary and preliminary. that's according to five senior officials familiar with the preparations no charges have been announced, but behind the scenes officials are focused on how to secure the area around the criminal court building in lower manhattan for what could be an unprecedented moment, a former president in court arraigned before a judge. nbc news reached out to all of the agencies involved. all have declined to comment. all this as trump's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, made two appearances in front of the grand jury this week, and current trump attorney, joe tacopina, says his client did nothing wrong. >> legal scholars, former members of the federal election committee have publicly stated there

was no crime here. >> reporter: the crux of the grand jury investigation, a $130,000 payment that cohen made to stormy daniels before the 2016 campaign. he says was done at trump's direction to keep her quiet about an alleged affair and trump later reimbursed him for it trump has denied the affair and says he relied on his lawyer's advice >> payments were made. >> reporter: the legal question is whether the documentation of that payment on the books of the trump organization violated the law. ththe former p president today pupushing backck ahead d of any possible indictment >> we have to get our country back the doj, the fbi, the local prosecutors should all stop. >> and, laura, if the grand jury returns an indictment, tell us what would happen next. >> so, lester, in the typical case, an indictment would be filed under seal with the court. the defense team would be advised that their client, the defendant, should surrender, come in for fingerprinting, processing. that all happens at the district attorney's office behind closed doors.

in this case we're told by trump's attorney, if the grand jury indicts, he would turn himself in, lester. >> all right, laura jarrett, thank you. the justice department and the fbi are now investigating the social media giant tiktok over allegations the chinese-owned company was spying on americans. hallie jackson now with the latest. >> reporter: a new investigation tonight into whether tiktok's parent company is spying on americans. the justice department and fbi now looking into whether the chinese company bytedance illegally surveilled journalists according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter some of those journalists include reporters for "forbes" who say they found they had been tracked through their user data and ip addresses. >> the companies have acknowledged that they were tracking my location in order to try to figure out who was talking to me. >> reporter: the doj declining to comment and so is tiktok, but bytedance tells nbc, it's investigating the spying internally, and will cooperate with

any official inquiries saying, we have strongly condemned the actions of the individuals found to have been involved, and they are no longer employed at bytedance. it comes as the biden administration is getting more aggressive about tiktok, one of the world's most popular social media apps, just this week issuing a kind of ultimatum telling bytedance to sell off the app or else face a tiktok ban here in america. china's foreign ministry today responding saying, the u.s. has failed to produce evidence the app threatens national security tiktok now going on offense set to send some creators to washington next week according to a spokesperson lawmakers and intelligence officials concerned about privacy. >> do you think it is a national security risk >> yes. >> reporter: and the potential for chinese propaganda to spread through the app. all of it sets up what will probably be an explosive hearing next week when the head of tiktok testifies in front of congress for the first time lester >> all right hallie jackson, thank you. financial markets were down again today

as concerns persist about the strength of banks, and tonight president biden wants bank executives held more accountable here's kristen welker with that. >> reporter: tonight president biden intensifying pressure on bank executives who engage in mismanagement and excessive risk, calling on congress to give regulators more power to reclaim bonuses and stock sale gains, make it tougher for banking executives to land other jobs in the industry and expand regulators' ability to fine executives writing, no one is above the law it comes after the president on monday announced the government would make whole those who deposited money at the silicon valley bank and signature banks, which collapsed. >> let me also assure you, we will not stop at this. we'll do whatever is needed. >> reporter: but there is no guarantee a divided congress will pass the president's proposals. today on capitol hill, republican house speaker kevin mccarthy saying he does not see a need for new regulations.

>> i think the regulators didn't do their job. i don't know that you need new legislation >> reporter: and tonight there is new scrutiny over the actions of former top executives at silicon valley bank. some questioning the company bonuses that were paid out hours before the bank was seized by federal regulators, and there is sharp focus on former ceo gregory becker's role with groups that actively lobbied to lift regulations put in place after the 2008 banking crisis >> a at least enenough vitriol is coming from members of both paparties herere after this collapse of silicon valley bank to at least move forward with some scrutiny on the banking sector itself from washington. >> reporter: and tonight the house financial services committee has announced it will hold its first hearing into the failures of both silicon valley and signature bank later this month, lester. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. in france tonight more violent protests erupting after french president emmanuel macron pushed through a highly unpopular change to the nation's

retirement age molly hunter is there. >> reporter: across paris tonight, protests against french president emmanuel macron, hours after two no confidence motions were filed against his government. protesters gathered at the place de la concorde starting a massive bonfire, clashing with police in the square. on thursday, the reacon was swift after president macron and his prime minister forced the unpopular pension reform bill through parliament without a vote the bill raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old, and macron argues 's essential to prevent the pension system from running out of money. >> we showed that. it's the only solution we have. >> reporter: in recent weeks eight national strikes interrupting everything from gasoline to transportation to garbage collection all across the city,

everywhere you look the consequences of the strikes are obvious, and out here protesters say every single night this is their fight for democracy, and tonight, president macron facing a backlash that could bring down his government lester, this is what's happening right now in the place de la concorde police are trying to clear the protesters, and protesters say they will stay out on the streets until the no confidence vote, which will likely happen on monday, lester >> molly hunter in paris tonight, thank you. tonight the fbi is asking for the public's help in finding another u.s. citizen kidnapped in mexico this time a great grandmother taken from a retirement home. gabe gutierrez with that story >> reporter: kidnapped and held for ransom, tonight this great grandmother's family is pleading for help >> we miss you, and we can't wait to have you home safe. >> reporter: 63-year-old maria del carmen lopez, an american citizen, split her time between southern california

and a retirement home in the small town of pueblo nuevo, mexico, that's in one of six mexican states where the u.s. state department has issued a do not travel warning. lopez's family says armed masked men whisked her from her home last month, and they've demanded a large ransom. >> we were able to hear what sounds to us like a recording of her pleading for us to please help her. >> we don't believe it's drug related. we believe that she was again targeted for kidnapping. >> reporter: her disappearance comes amid a string of kidnappings in mexico. these three women are still missing after crossing the texas border to sell clothes at a flea market just last week a cartel apologized for kidnapping four americans, killing two. over the last several years, more than 112,000 people have been reported missing in mexico including more than 500 americans. >> he has the biggest smile with the perfect teeth. >> reporter: among

them, robert franco jr., who was 21 years old when his mother lost contact with him during a trip to mexico in 2017. >> it's very difficult. i mean, i know the families feel helpless. >> reporter: as for the great grandmother who was just kidnapped, the fbi is now offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to her location lester >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you in 60 seconds, the controversial new findings about the origins of covid-19 and the animal some researchers now believe was involved

we're back now with new research that appears to support the theory that the covid-19 pandemic began when the virus was passed from animals to humans. it comes just weeks after agencies of the u.s. government said it might have come from a chinese lab leak stephanie gosk reports on the new research. >> reporter: the east asian raccoon dog, a relative of the fox, may hold the key to the origins of covid-19 according to

a group of scientists quoted in "the atlantic" magazine the team says their new analysis of samples taken at a wuhan market in the early days of the pandemic is a really strong indication that infected animals were there including raccoon dogs. the findings support the theory that covid-19 jumped from animals to humans. researchers say it is not a smoking gun. >> it is not conclusive because you can't prove the chain of events for how an animal got infected. you can't even technically prove the raccoon dog was infected. >> the raccoon dogs themselves weren't actually sampled. >> exactly. >> reporter: china has been widely criticized for not allowing an independent investigation into the origins of the virus this new analysis sure to fuel the heated and often political debate in a classified report to congress, the department of energy concluded with low confidence that covid-19 leaked from a wuhan lab according to two sources with direct knowledge. while there is disagreement among

federal agencies, the fbi also believes the lab may be the source. >> the fbi has long said going all the way back to the summer of 2021 that the origin of the pandemic was likely a lab incident in wuhan. >> reporter: past republicans accuse two of the scientists involved in this latest analysis of steering clear of the lab leak theory after being instructed by anthony fauci to dismiss it both the scientists and fauci deny the allegation congress unanimously approved a bill calling on president biden to declassify information related to the origins of covid so far the president has yet to sign it lester. >> all right, stephanie, thank you. up next we'll remember actor lance reddick, who starred in "the wire" and so many more tv hits.

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>> sad newsws tonight from hollylywood actor lance reddick has died he was best known for his role on "the wire" on hbo and had major parts in "fringe" and the "john wick" films among others his publicist says he died today at his home in los angeles from natural causes lance reddick was 60 years old. california is still dealing with the aftermath of those devastating storms, but now new signs all that rain went a long way to ending the state's drought crisis, and the impact may be felt nationwide here's miguel almaguer >> reporter: california's parade of atmospheric rivers has left the region in a state of mayhem and

misery, but tonight the deluge also bringing a brighter side to the darker days >> these storms are really helping with our deficit, but we had so many severe drought years, that it's going to take a while to pull out of them. >> reporter: in a stunning reversal from september when 94% of california was in severe drought, today just 8% of the state is the storms ending mandatory water restrictions for millions >> it means that we're no longer worried about entire towns going dry. >> reporter: as fertile farmland gets the water it desperately needs, the easing of california's drought will be seen in grocery stores and felt in pocketbooks nationwide, and while there's been minimal impact to the colorado river, which quenches much of the west, this is the dramatic change in california's reservoir system now filled to 70% of capacity the snowpack is at 223% of average.

>> snowpack is kind of mother nature's reservoir. 200% to 300% of average snowpack is nothing short of spectacular. >> reporter: because of all the winter moisture, the storms will likely mean a later start to the typically devastating fire season in the west in the wake of catastrophe, a silver lining to the relentless number of storms lester >> miguel almaguer with some good news, thanks. up next wewe'll take yoyou inside t the taylor r swift coconcert so b big, it's's taking ovover a whole e town

we're back on this st. patrick's day with celeations across the country. an estimated 2 million people turned out for the world's largest st. patrick's day parade in new york in chicago, images of that city's annual tradition, dyeing the river green and in georgia, an estimated 100,000 people in savannah celebrating the luck of the irish. and finally the wait is over taylor swift launching her highly anticipated new tour tonight in a city that literally renamed itself in her honor. emilie ikeda reports from swift city. ♪ >> r reporter: t tonight, taylor swiwift fans' wildest t dreams arere comingng true. ♪ a are you reaeady for itit ♪ >> reporter: as the megastar kicks off her first tour in five years. ♪ you need to calm down ♪ >> reporter: and, no, swifties will not calm down on a scale of one to ten, just how excited are you? >> 13. >> aaagh. >> it's all i've been talking about for months i've annoyed everyone

in my life >> reporter: just how sweeping is the swift sensation. just ask swift city. officials here literally changed the name of glendale today and tomorrow in the singer's honor. >> the fans thought that was so cool that they have now named me mayor swiftie. >> reporter: and mayor swiftie says the weekend's tourism could rival turnout from this year's super bowl. >> we've been getting calls from all over the world. ♪ we are never ever ♪ >> reporter: and visitors are sparing no expense how much money are we dishing out for this moment >> i'm also going to vegas next weekend to see her too. so, a lot. thousands of dollars >> reporter: a boom for businesses like the lola serving up a bejeweled menu. >> we have the bad blood sangria. >> i see where you get the bad blood from. ♪ we got bad blood ♪ >> reporter: it comes after the ticketmaster meltdown during initial sales, but tonight fans say they're shaking it off and showing up in style. ♪ we never go out of style ♪ >> all: hi, taylor.

>> reporter: emilie ikeda, nbc news, swift city, arizona. well, that's going to do it for us. that's "nightly news" for a friday tune in to this saturday's "nightly news kids edition" on nbc. thanks for watching, everyone i'm lester holt, please take care of yourself and each other. good night. pplause] ♪ ♪ ♪♪ you said that i've been actin' different yeah ♪ ♪ funny how i finally flipped the script on ya ♪ ♪ when you the one who's double-dippin' yeah ♪ ♪ you so sloppy how i caught you slippin' up ♪ ♪ you're off the lease ♪ ♪ run me my keys ♪

♪ no more poppin' up to hit it yeah ♪ ♪ i ain't even got the miles to trip on ya ♪ ♪ new phone who is this ♪ ♪ brand new like the whip ♪ ♪ rack it up no assist ♪ ♪ main b**** i ain't average ♪ ♪ wake up need a zip ♪ ♪ hennessy take a sip ♪ ♪ look at my jeans i'm too thick ♪ ♪ i ain't got the room for extra baggage ♪ ♪ don't forget to come and pick up your mm feelings ♪ ♪ don't leave no pieces ♪ ♪ you need to hurry and pick up your ooh feelings ♪ ♪ while i'm up cleaning ♪ ♪ boy please i don't need you ♪ ♪ oh memories all that s*** you can keep it ♪ ♪ oh don't forget to come and pick up your oh feelings ♪ ♪ don't leave no pieces ♪ ♪ put a lock on the door where my heart once was ♪ ♪ boy you had your fun ♪

♪ but i had enough ♪ ♪ now i'm really done ♪ ♪ i deserve so much more than you gave to me ♪ ♪ so now i'm savin' me ♪ ♪ and i made my peace ♪ ♪ so you can run them streets ♪ ♪ boy please ♪ ♪ i don't need you ♪ ♪ all that s*** ♪ ♪ you can keep ♪ ♪ i don't need it ♪ ♪ don't forget to come and pick up your oooh ♪ ♪ feelings ♪♪ [cheers and applause] >> kelly: welcome to "the kelly clarkson show," everybody! give it up for my band, y'all! that was "pick up your feelings" by r&b artist jazmine sullivan. i many her consent her -- i am one of those many -- consider her one of this generation's

greatest voices for her honesty, vulnerability, she's incredible. you can check her out. speaking of the greatest of a generation, y'all, our first guest, i'm excited, i'm trying to play cool, is the only person ever, woman or man, to win the three big awards for films, tvs, and stage acting in both the u.s. and the u.k. she's incredible. you can see her alongside harrison ford in "1923" on paramount+ and in the movie "shazam! fury of the gods," which is in theaters and imax now. everybody please welcome dame helen mirren! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪

>> kelly: i know! to go this is a pretty audience! >> kelly: thank you! you look so beautiful. because you've got lovely colors on for springtime. >> kelly: you do too but i love the touch of rock 'n' roll with the leather, that's my favorite part of it. >> i'm always trying to be rock 'n' roll. >> kelly: i was so excited you were coming i was in all caps in my emails with my executive producer, i was very excited. anyway, it's great to see you, happy sympatric say, do you all celebrate that in london? >> not as much as they do in new york, funny enough. but new york is where they really celebrate it. >> kelly: i think the shut down streets. >> in ireland it's more of a religious holiday, you know, st. patrick's day, so it's not -- >> kelly: they are doing it for the right reasons. [laughter] >> don't get me wrong, they celebrate. >> kelly: would you like a green beer to celebrate? >> i've never had a green beer.

>> kelly: me neither! i think i had one here, i think that's the only other time. let's do it. this is justin. >> i'm not sure i want to say thank you for that. but thank you. >> kelly: i got the average joe cup. >> how do they make it green? >> kelly: i'm not sure, maybe it involves giving us cancer. i'm not sure. >> [laughs] >> kelly: anyway, cheers! >> happy st. patrick's day. >> kelly: happy st. paddy's day. >> happy st. paddy's day. >> kelly: it just tastes like beer. >> wouldn't know it was green, would you? >> kelly: i don't even know if you want to talk about a but i have a tattoo on me as well. what does yours mean? >> are you kidding? you've got the same tattoo? >> kelly: not the same, just in the same location. >> was it painful? >> kelly: i was very inebriated. >> me too. >> kelly: what does it stand

for? >> mine was done with a safety pin. it was -- a native american did it for me. she was brilliant, put cotton around the end of the 20 bit of the safety pin and then just stabbed my hand with it. it was so painful, halfway through a set i can't stand it anymore, stop. she said no, what you committed to a tattoo -- she held my hand -- you've got to continue buried she was absolutely right of course because half the tattoo would have been terrible. >> kelly: would have been silly. didn't mean anything special to you? >> it did, actually. it was two interlocking -- it means one can be as different from you as you can possibly imagine but have equal to value to you and i thought that was a very nice -- >> kelly: that's the kind of tattoo you get drunk? [laughter] that's not the kind of tattoo i get when i'm inebriated, that was very prolific. that's a credible! >> my next on will be an anchor. >> kelly: [laughs]

we just had the oscars sunday, so you didn't go, i heard, did you watch it? >> i did watch it, i was in a restaurant actually watching. a so that great. >> kelly: anything happen that you love? >> i cried when brendan fraser got the award. i cried buried >> kelly: he did an incredible job. >> i worked with him quite a few years ago on a film called "ink god" and he is such a lovely person. i think you had him on your show. >> kelly: i've had him a couple times. >> i am sure you know what a beautiful man he is. he's a magical man i think. and he was clearly very, very moved, it was a huge moment for him. so it was the right person for me, the way he responded to it. i just found it very moving. it was the highlight for me, that whole show. >> kelly: i love that when you are rooting for someone because you really know either them other projects, whatever it may be and then a win, that's a really good feeling for everyone